By Jamie Samuelsen

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

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Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the “Jamie and Wojo” show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.

Ultimately, was it a mistake for Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg to participate in the Olympics?

Here are the two facts we know about Henrik Zetterberg’s injury.

1. It was a pre-existing condition that already cost him 15 games this season.

2. He re-injured his back in Sochi taking part in the Olympics for the Swedish National team. He was not in Detroit doing anything to benefit his employer, the Detroit Red Wings.

From those two facts, you can reach any conclusion you want.

Some have decided that Zetterberg never should have risked his health in the first place in a tournament he’s already played in three times and won once. The long plane ride to Russia certainly didn’t help an ailing back. While the thought of using the NHL players in the Olympics was charming at first, it’s lost its luster and needs to come to an end.

Others will tell you that Zetterberg could just have easily aggravated his back by rolling over in his bed back here in Michigan. He didn’t actually injure it during Sweden’s preliminary win over the Czech Republic but instead turned up the next day in pain. How long Zetterberg will be out remains a mystery. But to say he would have remained healthy just by staying stateside seems slightly irrational.

Which camp are you in? You can place me firmly in the latter.

I’d love to shake my hands in outrage and claim that the players and the league gain nothing from these exhibition games in Sochi. But this this is the very best hockey that we get every four years. And if you think these players are just going through the motions, all you had to do was watch the epic shootout between the USA and Russia Saturday morning to know just how much these games mean. You may hate shoot-outs. And a shoot-out seems like a wholly artificial way to settle these games. But sports are often about theater. And the Olympics are always about theater, which is why NBC packages the games the way that they do. In terms of sports theater, it doesn’t get much better than what T.J. Oshie and the American hockey team provided us with Saturday morning.

What does this have to do with Zetterberg and his injured back? Well some have publicly wondered if it’s worth risking the players health in these high-pressure games once every four years. I’ll admit that I wondered that when news of Zetterberg’s latest setback broke Friday morning. Some Red Wings fans that care far more about a Stanley Cup than a gold medal expressed outrage at Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk dragging their already beat-up bodies over the Russia for the Olympics. And that is completely logical rationale.

But consider the fact that Zetterberg didn’t actually hurt himself in a game. And consider the fact that an injury like his could become inflamed at any point. And then think about that shoot-out on Saturday morning. Zetterberg wasn’t part of it, but Datsyuk was. And with a week remaining in the tournament, there’s a very good chance that we’ll get more moments like that one thanks to the fact that the NHL players are over there.

It hurts that the games take place in the early morning hours and when some of us are sleeping or working. But with the medal games looming over the weekend, there is a great chance that we’ll get a USA-Canada gold medal game when most of us are rolling out of bed Sunday morning.

We’ve entered a weird era in sports where less and less seems to move the needle. Whether it’s the influence of social media and smart phones or the ever-increasing prices at the box office, sports seem to be in a lull. The NFL gets blood boiling. So do the playoffs in most sports. But the thought of the best in the world playing as hard as they can at the highest level is so rare that it needs to be embraced. Risking the health of players like Zetterberg and Datsyuk is frightening. This season, it might be damaging. But what’s the alternative? Telling them to stay home? Scrapping the whole pros in the Olympics altogether? Sorry. That’s not a trade I’m willing to make. And if it costs the Red Wings this season, so be it. The two weeks of hockey that we’re getting is well worth any price a hockey fan could pay.